by Danny Haiphong
President Obama would like to count the fall of left-wing governments in Brazil and Argentina, and the weakening of the socialist government in Venezuela, as part of his “legacy.” He is a master of subversion. “The resurgence of the right-wing in recent years threatens to undo the progress Latin America has made under the left's guidance.” Across the continent, “the legacy of colonialism and neo-colonialism continues to haunt Latin America.”
Latin America at a Cross Roads: The Right's Resurgence
by Danny Haiphong
“Latin America's oligarchy possesses as its ultimate objective the elimination of all gains that poor and working people have made since 1998.”
Latin America has been the site of the world's most radical continental movement since the fall of the Soviet Union. Venezuela's successful Bolivarian Revolution has inspired nations across South America to fight poverty and neo-colonialism. After Hugo Chavez's election in 1999, Latin American countries have pursued a model of regional independence and integration that considers the needs of workers and poor people over the interests of private capital. Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador are just a few nations that have drastically reduced national poverty levels since the turn of the century. However, the resurgence of the right-wing in recent years threatens to undo the progress Latin America has made under the left's guidance.
Of course, the current state of Latin America cannot be discussed outside of the context of US imperialism. For centuries, US imperialism has subverted Latin American independence through the support of brutal death squads, sanctions, and oligarchs. The experience of Venezuela is a microcosm of US imperialism's broad efforts to keep the continent in a state of dependency on the US and West. In 2002, the Central Intelligence Agency sponsored a coup in Venezuela of then President Hugo Chavez. The coup was unsuccessful due to the undeniable mass support that the Bolivarian government possessed from the masses.
“The movements that brought the Bolivarian revolution electoral power in Venezuela and other allied nations have yet to wrestle control of the entire state apparatus as Cuba has done in order to keep the oligarchy at bay.”
However, post-coup Venezuela has been the target of intensified attacks by the right. This has caused Venezuela to suffer economically. Venezuela has been one of many Latin American countries where the left has lost ground of late. The US has not helped the matter by slapping sanctions against the country in 2015. The so-called "opposition" in Venezuela scored a majority in Venezuela's National Assembly in 2015. Opposition forces have since hit the streets to petition for a recall of current President Nicolas Maduro. But the right's resurgence has not been confined to Venezuela. All over the continent, the legacy of colonialism and neo-colonialism continues to haunt Latin America.
In Argentina, US-based vulture hedge funds waged a viscous campaign in 2014 against the left-wing government of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. These hedge funds, working directly with the IMF and World Bank, demanded that Argentina's government repay debts imposed on prior administrations. The hedge funds based their demand on a US federal court ruling in their favor in 2012. The New York State court ruled that Argentina had a legal obligation to pay the debt in full with an additional interest rate of 1600 percent. The ruling pressured the left-wing government to either default on the debt or reject it entirely.
President Fernandez de Kirchner chose to reject the rule of the vulture funds only to have her party lose power in the 2015 elections. Right-wing business mogul Mauricio Macri's Presidential victory marked another substantial shift to the right in Latin America. In less than a year, Macri has eliminated thousands of public sector jobs. Furthermore, an illegal coup undertaken by Brazil's oligarchy this past year has only added fuel to the march of the right-wing across the continent. The new Brazilian President and his wholly corrupt lackeys have set their sights on the elimination of "Bolsa Familia," the country's most notable social welfare program.
“An illegal coup undertaken by Brazil's oligarchy this past year has only added fuel to the march of the right-wing across the continent.”
Latin America's oligarchy possesses as its ultimate objective the elimination of all gains that poor and working people have made since 1998. That means the destruction of state-subsidized programs which helped Latin America reduce poverty by over sixteen percentage points from 2000 to 2012.
Such progress is the primary reason for the right-wing’s discontent throughout the continent. Of course, the right-wing could not have regained political momentum on its own. The US government has played a critical role in the empowerment of the right in Latin America.
Millions of dollars each year have gone to NGOs sponsored by Washington to destabilize Latin America's left-wing movement. NGOs such as the USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy have used this money to support the organized political efforts of the right. In 2013, the US gave 60 million to the USAID and NED to strengthen right-wing dissent in Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela. Between 2013 and 2014, the National Endowment for Democracy delivered $14 million to opposition groups in Venezuela. These US proxies backed the campaign efforts of US stooge Leopoldo Lopez that led to the defeat the Bolivarian movement in the last National Assembly elections.
Such covert sabotage, according to Wikileaks cables, represents the broad policy of the US government toward Latin America's left-wing movement. But as the top imperialist dog, the US has historically not limited itself to merely "soft power" tactics of destruction. US imperialism's mission to maintain neo-colonialism in Latin America has been a violent one. Chile's most brutal dictator, Augusto Pinochet, was the product of a CIA-backed coup. The people of El Salvador and Nicaragua were slaughtered by CIA-sponsored "contra" forces in the 1980s. And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to US imperialism's murderous record in Latin America.
“Cuba has built a socialist democracy where participation of every single worker in the nation is the institutional norm.”
It was from these conditions that the Bolivarian left emerged to follow Cuba's socialist example. However, unlike Cuba, the Bolivarian movement has been forced to share power with the neo-colonial elite. This has played a significant role in the current resurgence of the right. Cuba has been able to maintain full, socialist independence from the US because of its dictatorial and democratic character.
Cuba has staunchly defended the gains of its revolution from being undermined by outside forces. At the same time, Cuba has built a socialist democracy where participation of every single worker in the nation is the institutional norm. Indeed, it has taken the entire nation to ward off non-stop aggression from the United States. The Cuban Revolution's ability to increase the standard of living for all Cubans in the face of US sanctions and sabotage would have been impossible otherwise. The movements that brought the Bolivarian revolution electoral power in Venezuela and other allied nations have yet to wrestle control of the entire state apparatus as Cuba has done in order to keep the oligarchy at bay.
Working class power is the only true counterweight to the right's resurgence in Latin America. The US government remains the single largest obstacle in the way of Latin America's self determination. Activists in the United States can aid in the defense and further development of the Latin American left by fighting its government at home. With the right-wing on the march and fully funded by the US, there is no better time than now to demand the US eject itself from Latin America. US meddling in the affairs of other nations must be met with a swift "left" hook or else the political landscape all over the world will continue to move rightward.
Danny Haiphong is an Asian activist and political analyst in the Boston area. He can be reached at wakeupriseup1990@gmail.com
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